Hariri: If it were up to me, I would favor women quota of 50 percent

NNA - Prime Minister Saad Hariri received at the Grand Serail this afternoon a delegation of the National Alliance to support the political participation of women, in the presence of the Minister of State for Women's Affairs Jean Oghassabian. Hariri said: "I was very keen that the ministerial statement includes a large section about women. I believe that in Lebanon we are lagging behind in this area. Women are active in the Lebanese society, working as lawyers, engineers, teachers at schools and universities, in the hospitals and all the facilities. But unfortunately, they are not well represented in politics, and we even have laws that are unfair to women. I think the fundamental problem is in the culture of the political parties. I am the greatest advocate for women's rights and will not go through any election that has no gender quota. In the Future Movement elections, we guaranteed a 35 percent quota in the political bureau. As for the electoral law, you must participate in its drafting in cooperation with Minister Oghassabian in this field. You need to cooperate more with each other to achieve the desired results. Today I am with you to the end and if it were up to me, I would like a women quota of 50 percent. In terms of proportional representation, I am in favor of a mixed law that combines proportional with majority. And it will be necessary to explain to people how it works because it is very different from the majority representation generally applied". He added: "We must also teach people to vote for women, and the quota contributes to this." For her part, former Minister Wafaa El Dika Hamze presented to Prime Minister Hariri, on behalf of the alliance, a document listing the demands of the National Commission for Lebanese Women. She requested that the female quota be not less than 30 per cent. Minister Oghassabian said: "We met with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and informed him of the work of our ministry, which reviews discriminatory laws against women. We work on three levels: to amend laws that discriminate against women, to develop the culture of equality through media and education, and empower women". ===================